Christmas Carols
by Randomguest815
Summary: The guys are all set for a great Christmas, until Carlos receives some news that will change Christmas, and possibly his life. Looking forward to going home, another bombshell is suddenly dropped on the guys. They're gonna need a little Christmas miracle to save this Christmas. A Christmas challenge I set myself. Rated T for possible language and maybe touchy subjects. Discontinued
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Okay, so I have set myself a challenge. For three fandoms, namely Gravity Falls, TMNT, and Big Time Rush, I am going to write a shortish story. Once every three days, I will update. By this I mean one fandom will be the 1st of December, the 4th, 7th, etc. Another will be the 2nd, 5th, 8th, etc, and the last will be the 3rd, 6th, 9th, etc. Then, on Christmas day, I will post the last chapter of each story. ****Call it an advent calendar kind of present to anyone who reads my stuff.**

**The may include references to Christianity. Don't let this put you off if you're not Christian, just enjoy the stories for what they are, not for Christian propoganda, and any Christmas miracles can be just that: a miracle.**

**If you wanna have a go, go for it! I'd love it if people did, just let me know so I can read yours too!**

**Randomguest xxx**

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><p>It was only the first day of December, and yet in apartment 2J of the Palmwoods, the Big Time Rush family was already decorating. Well, they were going back to Minnesota for Christmas day, so they may as well have enjoyed as much of the decorations as possible while they could.<p>

James and Kendall had manhandled the huge tree through the lobby and up the stairs, seeing as it wouldn't fit in the elevator, once again thankful that Bitters had used all of his six weeks of leave to go on holiday during December. The temporary manager just couldn't care less what was going on, as long as people weren't leaving bad reviews.

And most people don't leave bad reviews about being allowed to have a Christmas tree in their apartment.

So there it was, in all its full glory, covered from top to bottom in tinsel, lights and baubles bought to LA from Minnesota. All that was left to put on was the star.

"I wanna put it on!" Carlos yelled, trying to snatch it from Kendall, who was holding it high in the air where Carlos couldn't reach out.

"Uh, uh, uh, Carlos, you put on on last year." Mrs Knight chided, chuckling at the way Christmas so quickly turned her four, almost adult, boys into small children again.

"Yeah, it's my turn!" Katie smirked, folding her arms and cocking her hip. Kendall smiled smugly at his shorter friend and handed the star to his younger sister.

"Fine." Carlos said dejectedly, before brightening up. "But I'm doing the nativity scene!"

Kendall cocked an eyebrow, James folded his arms, and Logan shook his head, but they all smiled at the excitable antics of their bouncy friend.

James rolled his eyes, before lifting Katie up onto his shoulders so she could reach the top of the tree.

"I'm not a baby, you know, James."

"I know," the tall boy said, chuckling. "But you're still short. I did this to Carlos last year, remember?"

Everyone but Carlos laughed, Logan taking out his phone and showing everyone the picture he had taken.

Carlos rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. Just cause I'm short! Now I'm glad I'm _not _putting the star on the tree."

"Aww, but you look so cute!" Logan mocked jokingly. "Look at the little picture!"

Carlos finally laughed, and once the star topped the tree, went to his room to get the hand-carved wooden nativity figures from the box under his bed.

"Why do you always set them out, Carlitos?" James asked casually from the sofa as his roommate returned. "I mean, they're cool and all, but you're not usually Christian."

"Technically, I am." The shorter boy pointed out, starting to set the scene up. "I was christened, and I've been confirmed. But anyway, my abuelo carved these for my abuela on their first Christmas together. She got them out every year since, and then when abuelo died and mami and papi decided to move to America, abuela gave them to mami as a leaving present. Mami put them out every year at home, and then when we moved out here, mami gave them to me, to remind me of Christmas at home." Carlos paused his narrative to have a look at his handiwork. "It doesn't feel like Christmas without them there." He finished, joining his best friend on the sofa.

"Fair enough. That's really sweet." James said, looking over at the meticulously laid out model on the kitchen counter.

James put 'It's a wonderful life' on, and the two boys revelled in watching their first Christmas film of the season. That was, until Mrs Knight came in, paused the movie, and turned to Carlos, phone in hand.

"Carlos, it's for you, honey." She said in a very serious tone.

It was at this point that Logan and Kendall decided to reappear, sitting down next to James on the sofa.

Carlos gave his bandmates a confused look before taking the phone.

"Hello? Mami? What is it? Wait, what? Are you sure? No, it can't... But... Okay, mami. Bye."

The three boys sat quietly, very confused after hearing this one-sided phone call. After Carlos made no move, however, James reached out to touch his shoulder.

As soon as the fingertips brushed his shoulder, Carlos was up and running, tears streaming down his face, heading to the safety of his bedroom.

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><p><strong>So, what do you think? Short, I know, but when I said 'shortish', I meant nine short chapters.<strong>

**What do you think Carlos was told? Let me know in the reviews!**

**Also tell me how I did in the reviews. Don't be too mean, but I will happily receive constructive criticism. And if, by any chance, you plan on trying this challenge, let me know, either by PM, or in the reviews, because I would like to read your stuff! **

**Abuelo means grandad in Spanish; abuela means grandma.**

**I will only say this once: I don't own btr. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction, would I?**

**Randomguest xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Okay, straight away I am going to say that I don't know the medical facts about the medical stuff in here. I'm sorry, but you'll have to deal with that. Hopefully it's not too far out, but it might be so sorry.**

**Thanks for all the reviews, and this chapter might be a bit short, so sorry!**

**I will say this once, and once only: if I owned btr, I would not be writing fan fiction.**

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><p>Three days had passed since the phone call, and Carlos had not said a word. In three days, the only time he had left the bedroom he shared with James was to eat, to use the toilet, and to go to the studio, and when he was at the studio, he was more subdued than any of the guys had ever seen him.<p>

All he would do was lie on his bed, holding one of his wooden nativity pieces, staring at it. He wasn't speaking, wasn't smiling, wasn't moving. He just lay there, and it was starting to get to the guys.

"What are we going to do?" James whined, sitting next to Logan on the orange couch, watching Kendall pace.

"This isn't right. Carlos loves advent!" Kendall pointed out, stopping with one hand on his hip and the other on his chin.

"Yeah, by the fourth he's always bouncing off the walls. Normally we end up calming him down." James agreed. "I don't know how to cope with... with _this._"

"Me neither."

"I wonder what the phone call was about?" Logan asked, speaking up for the first time.

"It must have been something really bad to make him like this." James said. "_Carlos. _A moody _Carlos. _It's not natural."

Kendall had begun to pace again, but at this statement, he stopped. "Okay, that's it. Whatever this is is clearly bothering him, and not being able to help is clearly bothering us, so I think it's time for us to find out what's happened."

"Kendall, we can't just _ask _him." Logan said, standing up.

"Yes, we can. And we will."

"_No._" Logan blocked Kendall's path. "It's been proven that meeting someone talk to you about something they don't want to can make it worse."

Kendall folded his arms. "It can _also _make it better. Trust me, Logan, it's big brother instinct."

James looked at the two, sighing and standing up next to them. "Okay, we'll ask him. But, Kendall, if this makes it worse, it's your fault, and we are _never _trusting your 'big brother instinct' again. Got it?"

Kendall nodded, leading the way to Carlos's room, knocking gently on the door. "Carlitos? It's us. Can we come in?"

A small grunt came from the other side of the door, and Kendall decided to take that as a yes. Pushing the door open gently, Kendall sat on the edge of Carlos's bed, resting a hand on his shoulder.

A full minute passed in silence, James and Logan opting to sit on James's bed, before anyone said anything.

Surprise, surprise, Kendall spoke first. "Carlos, buddy, what's wrong? It's advent; I can't stand seeing you like this in your favourite time of the year."

Carlos sighed before slowly rolling over to face his friends, his wooden Angel Gabriel clutched tightly to his chest.

Another few seconds passed, before Carlos finally spoke. "You guys remember my abuela, right?" It was so quiet that Logan and James had to strain to hear him.

"Yeah, of course." James replied, smiling. "Every time she visited, she would bring us presents from Mexico. She treated us like family."

Carlos smiled sadly, tears forming in his eyes. "She moved to Minnesota recently, permanently. It was going to be the family Christmas present, so only mami, papi, and abuela knew about it."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Logan asked when his friend paused his narrative.

"Well, yeah," Carlos said, sniffing. "But she went to the doctors, to get forms filled in and stuff, and they sent her to the hospital. She was diagnosed... she was diagnosed with..."

Kendall tightened his grip on Carlos's shoulder comfortingly. "It's alright, buddy, just tell us."

Carlos took a deep breath. "She was diagnosed with aggressive cancer in her heart and lungs."

There was a pause as Logan, Kendall and James all took a deep breath, taking the sudden news in. "I know it's hard, Carlos," Logan said, being the first to collect himself. "But you have to remember, they've got it up to a fifty per cent survival rate for people who are diagnosed with cancer early."

"But she wasn't diagnosed early!" Carlos snapped, before calming down again. "The health service in the area of Mexico she was in wasn't up to much, so they didn't notice the signs. They think she's had the cancer for a while now. They're doing all they can to help, but the doctor told us that we should prepare to lose her within the next month."

"Oh, Carlos, buddy!" Kendall cried, and he, Logan and James pulled Carlos into a hug. The Latino didn't object to the hug, but he didn't join in either.

"See, guys?" He said once the three had sat down again. "I can't enjoy Christmas this year, not when I know that abuela could die at any moment."

"But, don't you see, Carlitos?" James said softly. "That's even more of a reason to try and enjoy it. This might be your last Christmas with your abuela; make sure you have happy memories."

Carlos looked down at the wooden figurine in his hand.

"Why don't you come and sit with us, Carlos?" Kendall asked quietly. "Watch some tv, get your mind off of things."

Carlos nodded, following his friends out of the room, yet he was still clutching the wooden Angel Gabriel like a lifeline.

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><p><strong>Okay, so I liked some parts of that more than others. Some bits seemed good to me, some seemed really below my usual standard of writing. But it's up to you to judge that. Tell me in the reviews!<strong>

**Sorry if I got things wrong, but I don't know much about cancer or the American health system, so... Sorry.**

**That was a push, finishing it today. I have no clue how I'm going to manage to get tomorrow's tmnt chapter done. But hey, I'll find time.**

**Thanks for reading, and remember to review!**

**Randomguest xxx **


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I was really worried about posting in this fandom because I wasn't sure if I could do well in such a big one, but you guys have been really nice to me. Thanks.**

**On to the story!**

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><p>Kendall shook Carlos's shoulder gently. "Carlos, buddy, wake up. Come on."<p>

Carlos let forth a stream of incoherent mumbles. The only word Kendall heard before a tear slipped down his friend's cheek was 'abuela'.

Kendall sighed. "I know, buddy, I know, but it's our last day in the studio, remember? And then tomorrow, we go back to Minnesota, and you can see your abuela. Okay?"

Carlos cracked open one eyelid, nodding reluctantly. Kendall smiled and left, letting his friend get dressed.

Five minutes later and the Latino was stood with his three friends in the lobby. Carlos put on his brave face as they left, getting into Logan's car and heading to Rocque Records. James, Kendall and Logan talked about getting back to Minnesota for all of the car journey, but Carlos couldn't bring himself to join in the conversation. Instead, he sat alone with his thoughts, reliving all the good times he had had with his abuela.

There was the time that abuela had bought cookies for the four boys, but Carlos ate them all. Then when he threw up, abuela had said it was payback for being greedy.

Or the time that Carlos had found a stray cat and bought it home. Abuela had told Carlos that she could speak cat, and pretended to have a conversation with it. Carlos, being young and gullible, had believed her.

Or when Carlos had agreed that if she listened to three of his songs, he would listen to three of hers. However, each of hers was at least ten minutes long.

Carlos couldn't imagine not having abuela there. She was so friendly, so loving, she didn't deserve cancer. In Carlos's mind, she didn't deserve to die; she was so kind she should be immortal.

Logan pulled up at the studio, snapping Carlos out of his thoughts as all four boys piled out of the car. Carlos sighed, half in excitement, half in annoyance. _Just one more day, _he thought, _one more day and I can go home._

The studio was decorated for Christmas, but it didn't excite him as much as the other guys. No, if abuela was dying of cancer, why should Carlos be enjoying himself?

Kelly met them as they walked down the corridor. "Hey, guys."

"Hey," Kendall said, smiling. "So what are we doing today?"

Kelly sighed, rolling her eyes. "You know the last day of term at school, when all you do is watch movies and chat, and the only reason you're really there is so you can _say_ that you were there? Yeah, well this is basically the same."

"I'm only here because Griffin pays me by the day." Gustavo said, emerging from his office. "So, sit on the couch, play on your phones, do whatever. I don't care. Just," he looked at each of them individually. "_Don't _break anything. Okay?"

The boys looked at each other, mumbling casually, moving to the couch and taking out their phones. They sat like this for hours on end, doing nothing worth while, until the clock hit four.

"Finally!" Carlos jumped to his feet. "Now we can go back to Minnesota."

"Great news, boys!" Came the unmistakable voice of Griffin from down the corridor. "You're not going back to Minnesota!"

"What?!" All of the boys were now standing, utterly shocked and confused. Kelly and Gustavo had also heard, and were now in the hall too.

Griffin smiled. "I have organised a tour. It'll be your first Christmas one, ending on the twenty-second of December. Christmas tours always sell well, and I'm in the mood for some more money."

Kendall, Logan, and James all turned to look at the shortest of the four, who stood in the middle. "B-but-"

"No buts," Griffin said, taking out his phone. "I still have Wayne-Wayne in my contacts, and if any of you even _think _about missing a stop, I will simply replace you." He turned around. "The same goes for you, Gustavo." Suddenly, his facial expression changed to a smile. "Well, off to the mountains. The snow makes me feel all warm inside."

The Big Time Rush crew watched as their boss left, all of their faces a mask of horror.

"Merry Christmas!" Griffin shouted as he turned the corner of the corridor, adding insult to injury.

Gustavo, James, and Kendall all opened their mouths to speak, but no sound left their mouths before Carlos had run into Gustavo's office, tears streaming down his cheeks, and locked the door.

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><p><strong>Wow that sounded rushed. Sorry, but it's almost eleven, and I have school tomorrow.<strong>

**Also, sorry if I put in anything that isn't done in other countries. I'm British, so I write as if everything is British. Sorry!**

**Hope you enjoyed, and please review!**

**Randomguest xxx**


	4. AN

**AN: I`m I'll. Like retching continuously. Because of this, I can't write.**

**I'm not sure if I'll be able to write tomorrow either, but I promise I'll update at the weekend. I promise: all the chapters I have to do.**

**I'm sorry, really, but surely my illness is punishment enough?**

**Thanks for understanding,**

**Randomguest xxx**


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